Bio

Mediterranean by heart. Parisian by birth. New Yorker by choice. Latin by soul.

Here is the DNA of the French American vocalist, bandleader and songwriter Pascalito who has been praised by Time Out New York for his “handsome voice” and “smooth-rolling band” and described by Jazz Timesas “at once a fine pop-jazz stylist and superb storyteller.” Dividing his time between Paris and New York, Pascalito is a “world chanteur” – presenting a noir-ish hybrid of jazz, folk-pop, bossa nova, tango and classical chanson, with Spanish and Eastern influences. It’s a musical melting pot which the multicultural artist coins “neostalgia.”

Little Prince age 6

Pascalito was born, Pascal Lorenzo Sabattier, in Paris, to a musical family of North African and Spanish Jewish descent. His father, a versatile floral artist and music lover introduced him to classical and film score composers while his Algerian-born sultry-voiced mother would often sing tunes from the French, American and Brazilian songbooks. His uncle, a seasoned singer, songwriter and bandleader of the Parisian tango scene gave him his first taste of live music and studio recording experience. In parallel with a graduate education in economics and international relations, Pascalito studied singing privately both in the classical and jazz techniques and received coaching from various American vocalists like Jay Clayton and the legendary, recently diseased, Mark Murphy.

In the late nineties, Pascalito relocated permanently to New York with a risk analyst job at the now-defunct global investment bank Lehman Brothers. Working in finance by day, but singing and songwriting at night, he has since emerged as a promising new talent on the Manhattan jazz and world music scenes, performing at established venues like Le Poisson Rouge (West Village), Kitano (Park Ave), Something Jazz (Turtle Bay), Metropolitan Room (Flatiron) and the French Institute Alliance Française ( FIAF East 60th Street Summer Stage Festival).

Pascalito has produced and released two prior studio albums. Le Blues d’Orphée (2007) brought the artist national exposure when original selections from the debut CD were licensed and featured in the popular cable network series Burn Notice (USA), Damages (FX) and NCIS Los Angeles (CBS). His world pop jazz crossover sophomore release, Neostalgia (2011), further established his reputation as both a singer and a songwriter receiving positive reviews in major jazz publications and gaining both national and international radio airplay .

Seven years ago, Pascalito started a fruitful collaboration with Brazilian pianist and arranger Luiz Simas with whom he formed the eponymous world jazz band Neostalgia. In 2015, he simultaneously released two live albums produced with this ensemble. Forbidden Coloursa five-track EP was completed over a one-day acoustic session filmed at the Bennett Studios, just before the renowned facility closed. The second disc Citizen Chanteur Live in NYC captures a full set of 14 songs recorded and filmed as a trio at the intimate midtown Manhattan venue Metropolitan Room. Both recordings brought the artist further recognition as a musical risk-taker and global music citizen.

Pascalito also made a successful homecoming debut in Paris with sold out engagements at Sunset Sunside, one of the French capital’s most renowned jazz clubs consecutively in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

After taking a little break from music and focusing on writing and consulting projects in Europe, the transatlantic artist will soon unveil a new full-length studio album. The Picture of Rafael, scheduled for release in Spring 2018, is a soulful homage to his grandfather, a Mediterranean cantorial singer , poet and Holocaust victim (audio samples presented in Listen section).